Tell Me What It Means
by If Wishes Were Blue Skies
Summary: AU.:. Alphonse Ehrlic and Edward Elric, two strangers, have a bond that neither of them can understand. But is it strong enough to help them through what they have to face?
1. Eyes of Gold

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to my first ever chaptered anime fanfic. So yeah, I'm a little hesitant and nervous about posting this, but since things have been going fairly well on the one-shot and drabble front with my other FMA fics, I figured I'd go out on a limb here. Plus, the story came to me in a vision, and I had to put pen to paper. So, uh... yeah, I've already gotten about halfway into the third chapter (or the fourth, depending on where I want to break it down), so it really depends on the response I get with this. In short, if you like this first chapter and **want me to continue**, please leave a review letting me know you like it. it's INSANELY and greatly appreciated, and it would just be me so very happy )

so ANYway, on with the story:D

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, or any of its characters. Though (even though he only has like, one line) Mr. Ehrlic does belong to me! yay, now I feel important XD.

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"Tell Me What It Means"

Chapter I - "Eyes of Gold"

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Golden eyes, bright as day. They stared at him, bore into his very being, but gently so. Something about those eyes made him feel anxious, like he was waiting for something, but he didn't know what, or whether it was even good or bad. The shining optics spoke thousands of words to him, though all in an unknown language. But something about it all… he could tell they were trying to tell him something. Something important.

"What is it?" he spoke, asking more than one question by doing so. _What is it that you're trying to tell me, what is it that I'm waiting for, what is it that you're making me feel? _Answers never came, but still he longed to know. He tried to reach out to the topaz-colored orbs, only to find that he himself had no body. But still, this didn't faze him compared to the mystery before him, staring, never blinking…

The dream always ended the same way. With a loud, detestable sound that was merciless. But it was because of that that it was the only thing that could make those eyes fade away.

…

5:03 am.

The green numbers glared at him through the dark. He looked at them with half-lidded eyes, his mind slowly registering the noise coming from the small electronic device. Once the beeping finally became annoying, he reached out and hit the button on top with more force than necessary. But he got the result he wanted.

Silence rang in the dark room. Most days, he would use this to his advantage and fall back to sleep for a little while longer, but…

Those eyes…

They kept coming back to his mind.

With a small groan, he reluctantly decided to get out of bed. Besides, if he got up now, he would have time to take a longer shower. So, he lifted himself from the bed, and padded across the room to the door.

As he made his way down the hallway to the bathroom, he heard a faint noise from outside. He stopped and listened. It sounded almost like… an engine? He walked a few steps further to one of the windows that were in the hallway, and looked out into the foggy gray-ness of the early morning.

The sounds were – as he had thought – coming from an engine. A truck, to be exact. It was pulling into the driveway of the house next door. He narrowed his eyes at it, wondering why it would be there. No one had lived in that house for as long as he could remember. But as he squinted harder, he soon realized that what was in the driveway wasn't a truck.

It was a moving van.

Eyes widening a little, he leaned away from the cold glass, but still looking out. It was definitely a surprise to him, he hadn't heard anything about getting new neighbors. Surely his parents would've known?

He shrugged and stepped away from the window, and continued the rest of his trek to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

An unpleasant shiver went through him as his bare feet met with the cold tile floor. He made haste in going over to the shower, and turning on the hot water, peeling off his pajamas, and hopping into the welcoming warmth behind the curtain.

He sighed contently as the water met with his cold skin. It burned a tiny bit, but he didn't mind. He turned so that it could cover his back and the top of his head, long chestnut locks spilling over his shoulders.

In the haze of his comfort, the teen's mind wondered back to his dream. He'd had it several times before, but the odd thing was that they had occurred all his life. And once every couple of years, he would have it. The first one came when he was four or five, and he remembered that it had scared him out of his wits. He had been too frightened to even sleep, convinced that those eyes were watching him.

But now at sixteen, the dream no longer scared him. Confused him beyond all reason, but didn't scare him. There was nothing to be scared of anyway, they were just eyes. They didn't look at him angrily, or anything unsettling like that. The dream wasn't even unpleasant to him all that much. And that fact was probably one of the most confusing things about it. The eyes themselves made him feel almost comfortable. He longed to know whom they belonged to, they had to be a wonderful person. That was, if they belonged to anyone at all.

Alphonse let his eyes drift shut as he began lathering strawberry-scented shampoo into his hair. Right after one of those dreams, the memory of it was always clearest when he blocked everything else from his vision. And sometimes he thought that if he daydreamed about it enough, all the answers would come to him.

But as always, no go.

Alphonse proceeded to condition his hair, but after that, the rushing water became a dull sound in his ears. Hid mind began to go blank as he stared at the wall, steam clouding around him. The comfort of the warm water was starting to get to him.

He remembered the room steadily going black before he lost all consciousness.

* * *

"Alphonse! Alphonse, honey!" 

A female voice, followed by a loud banging met his ears. His eyes slowly drifted open, he was having a hard time focusing. He blinked a few times, but everything still seemed clouded over.

"What the-?"

Suddenly, his senses came back to him and he felt something ice cold pouring all over him. He yelped and jumped up, now realizing he had been on his knees. Then all in one quick moment, he finally realized that he had fallen asleep in the shower.

He rushed out of the shower, only reaching back into to turn the knobs back down, ceasing the flow of water.

"Alphonse?"

He grabbed a towel from the closet and wrapped it around his waist. "I'm fine, Mom," he called. "I… fell asleep in the shower." Oh, how stupid he felt.

"Oh," she replied in a confused voice. "Well, uh… do you want me to make you some breakfast? It's 6:30."

'_Shit,'_ he mentally cursed. '_Only I could fall asleep in the shower for a whole hour and a half.' _"No thanks, Mom, no time." He ran the towel over his hair, trying to dry it the best he could.

"Okay, then," she answered, followed by he footsteps growing fainter as she went further down the hallway. Alphonse threw the towel he was attacking his hair with into the hamper by the door, then hurried over to the sink, grabbing the hair dryer from its spot in the cupboard underneath, and turned it on.

Once Alphonse deemed his hair dry enough to return to his room to get dressed, which – after fishing through the clean clothes pile in the corner of the room, and adding on the time it took to dry his hair and successfully tie it up into a ponytail – only took him a total of fifteen minutes. He then threw his books together, put them in his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and left the room.

Alphonse Ehrlic, though definitely wasn't the most organized and highest achiever in the world, never liked being late. He liked to arrive at school early, get to his locker before getting caught up in the mad rush of late people, and be the first one into homeroom. To do all that, he had to leave his house by 6:50.

He was down the stairs, across the hallway, and halfway out the door before remembering to turn and call back, "Bye Mom, I'm leaving now!"

She poked her head out of the kitchen doorway and smiled at him, auburn hair loose in it's ponytail. "Bye sweetie, have a nice day," she said to him sweetly. He smiled and waved in response, then left, shutting the door behind him.

He checked his watch. 6:54. He was behind by a few minutes, but he'd be fine. He hopped down his porch steps, but then stopped and glanced at the house next door, now noticing a dark blue minivan parked on the street in front. He quirked an eyebrow at it.

"I guess that's the new owner's," he stated to himself.

The brunette looked on for a moment more before turning back around and making his way down the street.

* * *

"You okay, Alphonse? You look kind of out of it." 

Alphonse looked up from his still full lunch tray to the blonde girl sitting across from him – his best friend since first grade.

"Yeah Winry, I'm fine," he told her with a smile. "Just tired is all."

She nodded, taking a sip of her apple juice. "Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"

Alphonse hung his head, prodding what was supposed to be stuffing with his fork. "I've just… been having weird dreams."

She cocked her head to the side, confused. "Really?" she inquired. "Like what?"

He never did tell her about them. It wasn't that it was some big secret deal, but he just never thought to discuss it with anyone. But he shrugged, took a breath, and told her.

"… Eyes?" she asked after he was finished.

"Gold eyes," he corrected. Their color had always held some kind of significance to him.

"And they just stare at you?" She shivered, an unpleasant expression crossing her face. "That's creepy. What do you think it means?"

Winry had always sort of been into things like horoscopes, dreams, and astrology. Besides her unhealthy obsession with mechanics, those were her other favorite hobbies. He shrugged again. "Probably doesn't mean anything."

He didn't believe that, really. He'd been having those dreams for nearly all of his life, and just with how they made him feel… it had to mean something. But… he wanted to find out what by himself.

Winry blew out her cheeks, mock-aggravated, mumbling something about being boring. He just stuck his tongue out at her.

Then he remembered something.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, causing her to jump. "Winry, have you heard anything about a new student coming here?"

She blinked at him. "Uh… no, I haven't. Why?"

"Well, there's some people moving into that house next door to mine," he explained. "I'm just curious if they have a kid or not."

"Really, someone's moving there?"

Alphonse nodded. She leaned back in her chair. "They must not, though. I think I would've heard about a new student, usually that's a big thing."

Alphonse made a small noise in agreement just as the lunch bell rang. Winry got up from their small table, picking up her tray.

"C'mon, Alphonse," she said cheerily, beginning her trek across the courtyard. He reluctantly got up to follow her, not looking forward to chemistry class.

* * *

"So Alphonse how was school today?" 

The brunette looked up at his father and smiled a small smile. "Fine, Dad. How was work?"

Christopher Ehrlic then went on to talk about a new employee that had he needed to train on one of the computer programs they used, Alphonse really only half-listening as he stared back down at his mashed potatoes. He really should be hungry, considering he hadn't had breakfast, and only a few bites of his lunch. So he tentatively took a small forkful of his food.

Things went silent again once his father was finished talking.

"Hey Mom?" Alphonse then spoke. Trisha turned to her son. "Did you notice that there are people finally moving in next door?"

Both adults visibly stiffened. Alphonse looked at both of them, taken aback by their odd reaction. His mother then smiled, though a little too unsurely for his liking. "Well… yes, I did," she answered. The boy cocked an eyebrow.

And that's all that was said on the subject. The remainder of the dinner passed in an unresolved sort of silence.

Alphonse returned to his room a short while later, telling his parents that he had a lot of homework to do. This wasn't really true, but he had needed an excuse to leave dinner early.

He wondered idly why his parents had reacted so strangely when he asked about the neighbors. He had never been very good at reading people, so he wouldn't even be able to guess what it was. He wanted to just ask them, but he knew they wouldn't give him a straight answer.

He sighed, going over to his window and opening it. Immediately, he noticed the dark clouds in the sky, the stillness in the air, the smell…

"It's going to rain," he stated to no one but the ominous clouds.

But then, out of nowhere, he heard a voice answer, "… Sure looks like it."

Alphonse nearly fell over backwards from surprise, but managed to catch his balance before toppling over. The looked wildly around for a moment before his gaze landed on the neighboring house's window that was a mere ten feet or so from his.

Or rather, the person standing _in_ the window.

It was a boy. Not a little boy, though, more like in his late teens. Tall and lean, he was leaning against his arms, partially out of the window, long golden hair falling out over his shoulders. Blue eyes shone behind his bangs, looking at Alphonse with interest. A warm smile played out upon his features then as he let out a friendly, "Hey!"

It was then that Alphonse realized he was staring.

He felt his cheeks grow slightly warm as he did his best to smile as casually as possible, uttering a small, "Hello?"

The other boy's smile widened. "I just moved in here today, as you might've noticed," he then stated. "The name's Edward – Ed for short. Ed Elric." He gave a small, but friendly laugh. "You don't know how glad I am to know there's someone my age right next door."

Alphonse blinked for a moment, but then found himself saying, "No one's ever lived there. Not that I can remember, anyway." He didn't know why… but he didn't feel uneasy at all about talking to this guy. And he usually had a hard time with strangers, particularly ones his age. Thus explains why he only had one friend.

"And it shows," Edward replied, gesturing with a grimace to the room behind him. He turned back to Alphonse. "Soo… what's it like here?"

The brunette shrugged. "It's nothing special. Nothing really big ever happens here," he told him. "Obviously you know we're right next to the ocean, so there's a beach and boardwalk for things to do, and a mall…"

Ed nodded. "What about the local high school?" he asked.

"Well it's just two blocks from here. I walk there everyday," Alphonse told him. "Just your average school, though. Regular teachers, regular students…" He paused for a moment, then he asked, "When do you start?"

"Tomorrow."

Silver eyes widened. "So early? You just moved in."

The blonde smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, but it's something better to do then helping around the house here."

Alphonse was surprised to hear a chuckle escape his lips.

After that, the two of them ended up talking for quite some time; a longer time than Alphonse could ever remember holding a conversation with anyone. They spoke about everything and nothing, _asked_ about everything and nothing. 'How old are you?' 'Why'd you move here?' 'Do you join any clubs at school?' 'What kind of things do you like to do?' Even things as pointless as 'What's your favorite color?'

Edward said silver, while Alphonse said gold.

Alphonse didn't know how many hours passed. He had long since pulled the wheely chair from his desk over to the window to sit on, leaning himself against the windowsill, while Ed was just kneeling on the floor. Alphonse was surprised that his parents hadn't come up to inquire who in the world he was talking to.

Once or twice, the brunette had wondered if the conversation seemed strange at all to Ed as well, or if maybe he was always this sociable with people, and all of his conversations with strangers went like this. But then, they weren't exactly strangers anymore. Both knew enough about the other now to write a book.

The sky had grown steadily darker throughout their conversation, from both nightfall and the thick clouds. Claps of thunder that were soft and off in the distance at first quickly came closer, louder with each one that sounded. Neither boy really took notice, though, except maybe to glance over in the direction of the storm for a moment. And even when it began to drizzle lightly, no one pulled away from their seat at the window.

No, the faint flashes of lightning, the booming thunder, nor the rain could get either of them to break from their conversation.

But when Alphonse let out a small yawn in the middle of ranting to Edward about how good oreos with peanut butter was, Ed decided to cut in.

"Hey," he voiced loud enough to be heard over the rain, but still with some sort of… gentleness. "You tired?"

The tone reminded Alphonse of how his mother or father would speak to him right before bedtime when he was little. He felt his heart give a tiny flutter as he leaned onto the windowsill. He nodded, honey colored tresses spilling out over his shoulders. "Yeah a bit," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, I am too," Ed answered, wincing a little as he pushed himself up from the floor. Alphonse stood up as well.

Then it was quiet. For the first time since they had began talking, it went quiet between them. Also for the first time, Alphonse didn't know what to say.

"Well…" the blonde began. "It… was nice talking to you."

Alphonse blinked for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah… you too."

It surprised him how much he really meant it.

They said their goodnights, just as the rain began to fall just a bit harder. Alphonse closed his window, but looked on at Edward's for a moment longer. He felt himself smile.

He fell into a dreamless sleep that night.


	2. Plausibility

A/N: omg, I return with the second chapter:D (finally). I had it done earlier in the weekend, but was being a bitch about uploading stuff. but anyway, I think this is pretty much the longest chapter I've ever written... for anything XD. not as long as I'd like it to be, but still a bit longer than my average ones, and I hope you guys like it. OH! and thanks so much to all who reviewed, you guys are too awesome :D

Disclaimer: see chapter one.

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"Tell Me What It Means"

Chapter II - "Plausibility"

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Alphonse shouted a goodbye to his mother as he opened the front door, but barely heard her say goodbye back, though, as he turned around.

Edward stood there, clad in his school uniform, backpack slung over one shoulder, and long hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Hey," he greeted with a wide grin, much like he had the night before. Alphonse blinked a couple of times, then shook his head and finally closed the door behind him.

He smiled back. "Hi," he greeted back, walking off his porch, but stopping suddenly once he was right in front of the other boy. He hadn't seen Edward up close yet…

He was actually shorter than him, only by an inch or two, and Alphonse couldn't help but notice that he smelled faintly of cinnamon and potpourri…

Silver eyes stared in unexplained wonder, his entire being frozen with an overwhelming sense of…

Comfort, warmth, familiarity, everything _right_…

Ed's eyes had gone wide as well, as if something had surprised him. Alphonse wondered if he was felling the same things, and was just as confused about it as he was.

"E-Ed?"

For a moment, the blonde didn't reply, but then shook his head slightly. "You ready, then?" he asked cheerily. Alphonse looked at him for a moment, and then smiled.

"Yeah."

And with that, the two of them walked down the cement path and onto the sidewalk, the brunette still feeling a little hot in the face.

"You know," Edward then began after a moment of silence. "I still don't know the name of my fair maiden at the window."

Alphonse's gaze snapped over to look at the shorter teen, eyes wide, and face flushing darkly. Ed simply smiled jokingly. Alphonse quickly looked back ahead of him, his honey-colored hair swishing in its ponytail behind him.

"It's Alphonse."

Edward made a small noise in response, looking upward a little, as if in thought. "Alphonse…" he repeated, the name rolling off of his tongue with such… '_perfection.'_

Alphonse mentally shook his head, still confused as hell. What in the world was it with this guy? Edward… he met him less than twenty-four hours ago, and was now walking to school with him, talking and behaving as though they'd known each other for years.

He just decided to ignore it, though, as they continued their walk to the school building, talking all the way, mostly Alphonse telling Edward about the different classes and clubs there were. As it did last night, the conversation carried out smoothly, natural even. Alphonse wondered…

Maybe he should ask him? The whole thing wasn't exactly _bothering_, per se… it actually made him feel an odd sort of comfort… but he still wanted to know whether or not he was the only one seeing it as something a little out of the ordinary.

"Alphonse! Hey, Al-!"

The brunette turned to his left to see something blonde and bouncy running toward him, but then stop abruptly as her crystalline blue eyes landed on Edward, who had stopped mid-sentence in what he was saying to Alphonse.

Winry walked up to them, her plaid skirt ruffling softly around her legs. "Hey, Alphonse. Who's this?"

"Oh!" he said, and quickly gestured to the older teen. "Winry, this is Edward Elric. He moved into the house next door to mine."

She looked at Ed for a moment, confused, but then grinned cheerily. "Well, Edward," she said, offering him her hand. "I'm Winry Rockbell, it's nice to meet you!"

He smiled back, taking her hand and shaking it. "You too."

From there, the three of them walked the rest of the way together.

Alphonse sat at his usual table in the courtyard, sipping at his milk, but happily eating into his tuna sandwich, seeing as though he hadn't eaten in a whole day. Winry was in the school workshop with her robotics club for the lunch period, so he was alone. More than once, Alphonse wondered where Edward was, but he tried not to. He had just met him, it wasn't like he could expect him to accompany him all of the time.

The teen was so concentrated on not concentrating on Edward, he barely noticed someone's voice carrying out across the courtyard, calling for some 'Al' person. There was only a handful of people outside that way, so it wasn't very noisy, but whoever was yelling was still persistent to cut through all other sound.

All of a sudden, though, the voice was right next to him, a little less loud, and awfully familiar. Alphonse turned his head just as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

Edward smiled down at him, panting slightly. "Al, hey," he said.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "'Al'?"

"Yeah, you know, short for 'Alphonse'," he answered, a joking tone in his voice. But when Alphonse just continued to blink up at him, his expression turned confused. "You mean no one's ever call you that before?"

The younger shook his head. "No, never."

Ed looked at him for a moment more, then lifted his hand from Alphonse's shoulder to the top of his head and ruffled it affectionately.

"Well then, I guess I'm just the lucky one who gets to be the only one who calls you that," he stated with a grin.

Alphonse felt a light blush rising in his cheeks, eyes widening slightly. He looked back down at his lunch tray, hoping Ed wouldn't notice.

"So what'd you need?" Alphonse asked into his milk carton.

"Oh! Yeah, I need you to show me around the school," he said. "Principal Hawkeye asked if I had any friends here yet who could do me the honor, and I told her you, and… well yeah, I think you know the rest."

The younger teen turned to look up again. "Me?"

Edward slapped him on the shoulder again. "Well yeah, who else?"

Alphonse felt something well up inside of him at the thought, though unsure of what exactly it was. It… for some reason, just hadn't occurred to him to consider their relationship as friendship. Subconsciously, he had felt it was something a little different, though. Nothing more or less meaningful, but… different. Though still, it… felt nice.

"Well, okay then," he finally replied, standing up and grabbing his empty tray.

"And that building over there is the gym," Alphonse said, pointing out the hallway window to the brick building across the way. Edward took a step to join him at the window, looking out at it.

"That's pretty much it, I think," he then said after a moment, leaning out of the window a little bit. "This school is pretty big, but it isn't hard to remember what's where."

Edward didn't reply, but just turned and leaned his back against the windowsill, his elbows hanging out over the edge.

Alphonse took a moment to study him, his silver eyes slowly trailing up and down Ed's entire frame. He noticed a few things that he hadn't been able to see from his window the previous night. Now in short sleeves, Alphonse could see that Edward had a slight build to him, though small enough that he wouldn't be considered insanely muscular or anything. Also, he had the deepest pair of blue eyes, a color that reminded him strongly of the Hope Diamond. Though stunning as they were, there was _something… _just something about them that he couldn't name.

The brunette glanced away from the older boy beside him, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed that he was describing him in such a manner. But then out of the corner of his eye, his noticed something.

Something was… off about Ed's arm. Alphonse studied it for a moment out of the corner of his eye, but when he realized what it was, he turned his head all the way to look at it.

"Uh… Ed?"

The blonde looked over at him. "Hm?"

Alphonse hesitated for moment, unsure of how to go about asking. It was a little awkward. "This, uh… this is going to be strange, but…" he pointed at the right arm in question. "You have no hair on your arm."

For a moment, Edward just blinked at him, a surprised look on his face, but was soon replaced with a smile. "Oh, yeah. I'm surprised you noticed," he said, lifting the arm up to get a better view, then held his hand out to the boy beside him. "Touch it."

For a couple seconds, Alphonse did nothing, more than a little confused, but obliged all the same. He lifted a tentative hand to Ed's and let his fingertips brush the palm, and as he did so, he let out a soft gasp, silver eyes widening. He pressed his fingers a little harder into Ed's palm to feel it more, and eventually just took the hand in both of his, roaming and kneading the hand as though it were some kind of dough.

"It's… synthetic skin," Alphonse stated, his voice filled with astonishment. His hands made their way up Edward's forearm.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, my entire right arm is mechanical."

The younger boy's gaze snapped up to meet his, eyes even wider. Then Ed lightly slapped his left leg, a bemused smile still playing upon his features. "My left leg too, from just above the knee, down."

Alphonse stood there, completely dumbstruck, his hands frozen on Ed's arm. "My God…" he breathed. He'd never seen anything like this in real life before, let alone actually _know_ the person. There were a million and one questions buzzing around in his head, but one stuck out among the other ones.

"How?"

Ed's gaze averted to the floor, going silent, as if in thought. Alphonse looked at him, wondering if maybe the question bothered him, maybe it was a touchy subject for him. But the Ed looked up again, though still not looking at the brunette.

"It was… a result of me being stupid," he stated simply. "A train accident. I was walking home from school way back when I was in elementary, and took a shortcut across the train tracks, even though my mom always told me not to. But I decided to walk along them for a ways, and I guess I just had my headphones up too loud and didn't hear it coming."

Silver optics stared in horror as Ed fell silent again. "You were _hit_ by a _train_?" he asked, his voice filled with shock. "Oh my God, Edward, that's-,"

Edward held is other hand up, silencing him. "It's fine, it was years ago now, and I don't even remember anything about it. All I _do_ remember is waking up in the hospital a couple days later, all bandaged up and missing two limbs. They told me though that I had been insanely lucky. If the train hadn't been going as slow as it had, it would've killed me."

Alphonse was completely blown away. He'd never known anyone who'd been in that horrible of an accident before, and he had no clue what to say. It was just so unbelievable. Maybe it was just him being a wimp or something, but it just seemed too terrible to even imagine.

Silence rang in the empty hallway, the pair standing there, unmoving. Edward was looking at the wall opposite him, his eyes blank, while Alphonse just continued to stare at him, still a bit dumbfounded.

"Hey, Al?" Ed's voice then broke the silence, almost causing the other boy to jump. He remained silent though, waiting for the blonde to go on ahead with what he was going to say, but for a while nothing came from him.

But then Ed hung his head and muttered, "Never mind."

Alphonse looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"I really like it here," he then said, quite out of the blue. Alphonse blinked, Ed turning to look at him with a small smile on his face. "The school, the neighborhood, the people…"

He trailed off for a moment, his gaze drifting off past the brunette, as if in thought. A moment later, though, his blue eyes looked back at him and finished, "You."

Alphonse felt his heart skip a beat, almost causing him to let out a choking sound as a result. Once again, he could only stare at Ed, though now there was an entirely different type of emotion that made him do so. He was frozen still, eyes wide, speechless, wondering why it was that his heart was beating so fast…

Alphonse walked home by himself, Edward having to having had to stay after school to speak to some of the teachers in getting himself settled. Truth be told, though, he was glad to have some time to himself to think for a while.

He gripped the strap of his book bag tighter as he stared down at the cement, lost in thought.

Edward… the name came with such a spark now, like a small firework going off inside of him. Even when he'd heard it for the first time, it had caused the tiniest bit of some sort of… nostalgia or something. And he just met him the night before, so why was he… he didn't even know what it was. He had felt disappointed when Ed hadn't joined him at lunch, flustered at a simple nickname, and… the feeling that had gone through him when Edward said that Alphonse was one of the things that he liked about living there, and the way he had said it, and…

Alphonse shook his head, hair now free from its ponytail flailing around his shoulders. "I'm just taking it the wrong way," he spoke to himself. "It's all just me being weird, I'll bet Edward isn't stressing over _any _of this."

The brunette turned onto his walkway in front of his house, trying desperately not to think about any of it, but failing miserably. The look in Ed's eyes as he had said that one word… '_You'…_

Alphonse sighed, walking into his house and up the stairs. Trisha, in the living room, turned to see her son making his way up the steps, looking like he was distracted by something. Her eyes turned concerned, but something held her back from saying anything, telling her not to ask him anything. Not yet, at least. It was only when she heard his bedroom door close did she look away from the empty flight of stairs.

A feeling of relief washed over the brunette as his entered his room as though he had stepped into some kind of sanctuary. He dropped his bag to the floor and walked a painful five steps to his bed, clumsily falling onto it, not even bothering to take his shoes off. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, the warm breeze that smelled of rain coming in through his window and caressing his face in small butterfly kisses.

_Cold. _

_Wind, cold air, loud but distant crashes, trembling…_

_A name, anameanameaname, a name of someone he knew, someone… It kept coming into his mind, repeating itself over and over. What did it want? To remind him of something? But what? How much he wanted the person who that name belonged to, right? How cruel…_

_But then the named morphed slowly… from one name into another. At first, and for a while, it was a jumble of the two names, impossible to understand. But soon…_

"_Alphonse," it whispered. _

_And then it was warm. The cold went away in an instant, completely replaced by comfortable and safe warmth. The voice said something else, but it was too far away to hear by then. _

"_Alphonse." A different voice. Still warm and pleasant, but not in the same way. It repeated his name again._

Edward… 

His eyes slowly fluttered open, instantly landing on the person causing the shift in weight on his mattress. Long blonde hair fell in front of sapphire eyes as they leaned in a little bit closer, their face still a bit of a blur.

"Hey, Alphonse?"

He recognized the voice immediately. He slowly sat himself up and rubbed at his eyes, her face slowly coming into focus.

"Oh, hi Winry," he greeted drowsily. She smiled at him, but instantly he felt something uneasy about it.

Suddenly, a loud crash from above made him jump. Looking wildly around, he also noticed a pattering sound at the window. He glanced over at it, and was surprised to see that it was storming outside.

He turned to Winry. "When did it start raining?" he inquired.

"About an hour ago," she answered simply.

He nodded, but then something flicked on in his head. "I don't remember closing the window… did you close it?"

The blonde remained silent for a moment, but then a small smile appeared on her features. Alphonse raised an eyebrow at her.

"So, Alphonse," she began, seemingly ignoring his question. "What's with that Edward guy?"

The boy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying hard to sound like he really didn't know. In truth, he really _didn't_, but he had an idea…

"Oh come on," she whined playfully. "Like I didn't see how buddy-buddy you were with him on the way to school this morning. Aaaand, he was just in here with you!"

Silver eyes widened again, but with confusion more than anything else. "In _here_?" he asked incredulously. "_What_ are you talking about?"

Winry looked at him. "What do you mean, 'what are you talking about'? He was just here, I heard him!"

Alphonse remained silent, his head spinning. What in the world was she going on about? Edward wasn't in here, he was just asleep! Winry sighed in a frustrated manner.

"When I got here, your mom just sent me up here, but when I was right outside the door, I heard someone talking, and I recognized it as Edward's voice."

Alphonse's eyes were the size of dinner plates now. Just the thought… "I… don't know," he managed out, completely shaken over the thought of Edward in his room without him knowing. "I was asleep, so… I guess it's possible. He could easily climb across the tree in between our houses, and in through my window."

'_Maybe that's how the window closed…?'_

Winry looked confused now. "You mean you didn't know he was here? He just came in, and left?" she asked. "I figured he was here for a while, and you had just lied down after he left."

Alphonse shook his head, feeling himself tremble slightly. Then he looked up at his friend and asked, "What was he saying?"

Winry looked at him for a moment, silent, but then out of nowhere, let out a small giggle. "Well, the first thing I heard was him saying your name. And then, a lot quieter – I could barely hear it – he said, 'what is it that you're doing to me?'"

The brunette felt his heart pick up speed instantaneously, a blush rising to his cheeks. His shaking intensified, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Sooo?" the girl cooed. "Back to my first question: what is it with him and you?"

Alphonse stared down at his lap, feeling hopelessly lost, her previous words of what he'd supposedly said still running fresh in his mind. "I… have no clue," he spoke, running a hand through his tangled hair. '_I mean… what _could _it be? This all just happening way too fast, I don't know what to do about any of it…'_

Winry furrowed her brows at him, telling him she wouldn't take that as an answer.

"I'm serious, Winry, I don't… I can't even…"

"Well he must have some kind of thing for you," she stated. If possible, Alphonse's blush darkened even more, eyes flying wide open at his friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but was too shocked to speak. He closed it.

Winry shrugged. "What? What else could-," she put on a deep, mock-dramatic voice, "'what is it that you're doing to me?' mean?"

Al was at a loss. It could have meant a lot of different things, but… he hadn't even known the guy for twenty-four hours, and all of a sudden there's this talk of… he couldn't even think about it. It was just insane! How in the world could something like… like _that_ come up so soon? It was just unheard of! There was no way that Edward…

"But… he couldn't," he looked back up at Winry. "We just met yesterday!"

Winry shrugged again. "So?"

He gaped at her.

"Well according to what you told me in second period, you two aren't exactly strangers. You gave each other your whole life stories last night, didn't you?"

Again, he was defeated. "That's true, but-,"

"No 'but's, Alphonse," she interjected. "He just must've seen something in you that made him really take to you."

Alphonse didn't think his face could get any hotter at this point. "But… he's a gu-,"

"Don't even give me that, Alphonse," she interrupted him again, but glaring at him this time. "If you like someone, it for _who_ they are."

The boy was completely at a loss for words. All of it was happening way too fast for him… he didn't even know how to respond to anything. As far as he knew, no one had ever liked him in that way, but now this person he'd met not even a day before supposedly did? And not just any person, but… Edward.

Alphonse felt his chest tighten for the second time that way, but somehow, it felt a bit less tense, though only succeeded in confusing him more. He wasn't appalled, or angry at the thought of Edward maybe having feelings for him. At least _that_ would be somewhat normal, but… he didn't feel that at all. What confused him more than anything else was the little spark of… happiness, God, _happiness_, that had gone through him when he thought about it.

"And what about you?"

Al looked up, a serious look now upon Winry's face.

"What about me?" he asked.

She didn't reprimand him. "How do you feel about him?"

He looked back down, knowing in his gut that that question was bound to surface. He didn't even feel embarrassed anymore, just tired and confused beyond words. "Do I really have to answer?"

Winry sighed. "Well, no… but it would probably be good for you to think about it."

She paused, and then put a hand on his shoulder. He raised his head to meet her gaze.

"I guess this is all a little crazy for you," she said to him in an uncharacteristically kind voice. "But… just incase he really _does_ like you… just incase he _tells_ you-,"

Alphonse's heart gave a particularly loud '_thump'_ in his chest.

"-You're going to want an answer for him."

He remained silent, staring down at his hands. He knew Winry was only trying to help him, and he really did appreciate it.

"Thanks, Winry," he said with a smile. "I'll… I'll do that."

She smiled back and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then got up from the bed. She voiced a goodbye, and he did the same, and then she left the room, closing the door behind her.

He didn't go down to dinner that night, complaining to his parents of a sour stomach. It wasn't entirely untrue, he still could've eaten, but he just didn't feel like being around anyone. He wouldn't be able to hide the fact that something heavy was on his mind, and they'd just asked questions that he himself wasn't able to answer.

So he remained on his bed, having barely moved since Winry left over an hour ago. He had homework to do, but doubted he was going to school tomorrow, deciding that even if he didn't feel any worse by the next morning, he would just take a 'mental health' day (as his mother liked to call it). It wasn't good to do, he knew this, but…

In all truth, he just… didn't want to see Edward.

He felt horrible for it, running away from him because he didn't know how to deal with his own emotions.

Alphonse shook his head, trying to push the guilt from his mind. He yawned, eyes welling as he did so. He let himself fall backward onto his pillows, not even bothering changing into his pj's. His eyelids drifted shut, but sleep was far from him, his nap from earlier giving him more energy than he'd like to have. So he thought… something he _knew_ was a bad idea, seeing as though he wanted to keep his mind of current events, but as his mind kept traveling over them, over the boy that lived next door to him now…

He found he didn't mind so much.


	3. Little By Little

A/N: aaaaack, I'm so sorry guys TT this took way longer than it should've, and I have no excuse other than my laziness. but I promise there's gonna be a few updates on my drabble collection very soon, along with chapter four of this. promise promise promise. as always, thanks so much for the lovely reviews - 

Disclaimer: see chapter one.

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_"Tell Me What It Means"_

Chapter III - "Little By Little"

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By 2:00pm the next day, Alphonse found himself half-wishing that he had gone to school. He had forgotten how completely boring it was to stay at home. During the day, no one else was there, so he was alone. After doing all the homework he needed to get done, he really had nothing else to do, so he just took to letting time go by, by doodling in his sketchbook, and it had worked for a little while, but soon he got bored again. He then had traveled into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich for lunch, and then tried to find something interesting on TV.

3:00 finally rolled around, causing Alphonse to begin glancing nervously out the large window across the room from him that looked out in front of the house. School let out everyday at 2:35, and with walking home, he always made it back somewhere around 3:15, give or take a few minutes. So Edward should be…

And there he was.

Startled, Alphonse froze in his seat on the couch, scared that if he moved, Edward would turn and look in to see him. He allowed his eyes to follow the blonde as he walked past his house and onto his own front lawn. Only when he lost sight of him did he finally relax, letting out the breath he was holding, and feeling completely idiotic.

"I'm acting like a stupid little kid," he reprimanded himself. "I should just go over there and talk to him. I'm probably just blowing this whole thing out of proportion anyway."

Then, he heard the front door open, causing Al to jump. He stared at the archway that led into the hallway by the door, but immediately relaxed when he saw his mother walk in.

'_Geez, I'm being so jumpy.'_

"Hi, sweetie," she greeted with a smile, placing her bag and keys onto the recliner next to her. She took off her jacket and hung on the coat hanger. "How was your day off?"

Al smiled back. "It was fine. Thanks again for letting me stay home, mom."

Trisha smoothed down her skirt and walked over to him, sitting next to him on the couch. She reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. "It's no problem, everyone needs a break once in a while."

A sudden wave of appreciation washed over him at that point, and was unable to keep from smiling at her. He often wondered sometimes how he'd ever get along without her, she was always so nice to him. Even when punishing him, he'd never put up a fight, just because she's always be so gentle about it. Of course, he loved his father just as much, but somehow he had always felt like he was closer to his mother. But he'd just shrug it off, guessing it was just because she was the one who carried him around for the nine months before he was born.

"I'm kind of tired though," he then said. "I think I'm gonna go upstairs and try to lie down for a little while."

She just nodded at him, gesturing for him to go. He stood up from the couch then, and with one last look at his mother, he left the room and made his way up the stairs. Once he was on his bed though, he didn't lay down. He was a little drowsy, but he really didn't feel like sleeping. Sleeping, to him, was a waste of time. He wishes there was a way to get through a week on only a couple hours of sleep, just so he could use that extra time to do more important things. But alas, the world just didn't work how he wanted.

A rattling-knocking sound then cut through the silence, causing him to jump. Eyes wide, he stared around his room for the cause of the noise, only to find a smiling face meet his gaze through his closed window. Instantly recognizing the crystal-blue eyes, Alphonse's heart began thumping almost painfully in his chest. He was frozen there on his bed for a moment, and once deciding he couldn't very well ignore him, got up and opened the window.

"Can't you use the door like a normal person?" Al accused, giving Ed a mock-glare from outside his windowpane. The blonde simply shrugged from his crouching position on a horribly thin branch. Alphonse quickly stepped aside to let him climb through.

"Nah," Edward said once he was upright with both feet firmly planted on the carpeted floor. "That would be too easy."

Trying his best not to meet his gaze, Al moved away from him to take a seat on his bed, and becoming suddenly fascinated by a lone piece of fuzz upon the bedspread. Edward sat down on the wheely chair by the desk, sitting on it backwards, resting his forearms on the back of it. He looked at the brunette before him.

"So how come you weren't at school today?" he asked.

Alphonse continued to pick at the small ball of fuzz on his blanket. "I, uh… just needed a day off, is all."

Silence for a moment more, and then, "So you're not sick, or anything?"

Alphonse shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

Edward used his feet to wheel himself a little closer to the bed. Even though Al wasn't looking at him, he somehow sensed a small smile upon his features. "Well that's good," Ed declared. "I was a little worried."

Before he knew he was doing it, Alphonse looked upward, silver meeting blue, causing a sudden shiver to run down his spine. He shook it off, wanting to hit himself for looking up in the first place, and also because he _hadn't _wanted to look. He was acting like a complete and total idiot to Edward, and sooner or later, he was going to notice, and wonder what in the world he'd done wrong.

As he had suspected, Ed's mouth was turned slightly upward in a caring smile, as though he was truly happy to know that Al hadn't been sick. This caused said boy's stomach to churn slightly, but he finally allowed himself to offer a smile in return, feeling a bit touched despite himself that Ed had worried over something so small.

"You didn't need to get worried, I'm not that important," Al then said nonchalantly. It was meant to have been a joke, but upon looking at the expression on the blonde's face, he wasn't taking it as such. But then he grinned, and reached out his hand and ruffled Alphonse's hair.

"'Course you are, Al, don't kid yourself," he said happily. Alphonse let out a small giggle. Ed's hand slowly ceased in its movements, and he was about to pull it away once more, but instead kept it lingering there atop his head, as if unsure of what to do with it.

"I… am really glad," the older then stated, his voice filled with a sudden seriousness. "That you're feeling alright, I mean."

Then, hesitantly, he allowed his hand to drift downward, past Al's ear, coming to rest softly on his cheek. The brunette could only stare at the boy in front of him, trying his hardest to ignore the shivers going up and down his spine. Ed was looking at him as well, though there was something in those eyes of his that Al couldn't read. Something inside of him told him to push Ed's hand away, but the warmth that was radiating from it was just too welcoming, and in all honesty… he really didn't want to. Something about the touch was just so comforting, calming even. Al couldn't help it when his eyes fluttered shut and he tilted his head into Ed's hand.

Oh, he didn't know what it was between him and Edward, but… he wasn't sure he wanted to give it a name just yet. For now, everything felt too nice to be described, let alone labeled. Even if just for a little while, he…

But then the warmth was gone.

Opening his eyes, Alphonse watched Edward pull his hand away, his eyes drifting uncomfortably toward the floor. He looked at him, a little confused, subconsciously missing the sensation. He resisted the urge to reach out with his own hand, grab Edward's, and put it right back where it was. And why did he suddenly look so… afraid? Just as he himself had been when Ed had first entered the room, unable to make eye contact.

"Ed?"

The blonde shifted a bit in his chair, then looked back up at Alphonse with an uneasy smile on his face. "Well, I… should be getting back then," he said a bit abruptly. Al looked at him. "I just wanted to know if you were feeling okay, and my dad wants to me to help him do some more unpacking tonight."

And with that, he stood up from the chair and pushed it back into its rightful spot. For a moment, Alphonse was too surprised to move, but then he sprung up from his bed.

For a moment, he was unsure of what to say, but then managed out, "Do… do you just want to use the front door?"

Ed turned to him, and paused, as though contemplating it. But then he just smiled and shook his head. "Nah, that's okay. Besides, wouldn't it be a little weird explaining to your parents someone leaving who never came in?"

Alphonse thought about it. That was true, but he was sure his mother wouldn't really care that a friend was climbing in through his window. It wasn't _entirely_ abnormal, after all. But then he remembered how both his mother and father had acted open mentioning the new neighbors the other night, and decided it _would_ be best that Edward take the window.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Alphonse complied, and just watched as Edward stepped up onto the windowsill, and hoisted himself onto the tree branch with little difficulty. He climbed across the tangle of limbs and over to his own window, only having to step out a little bit to reach it, and sliding in. He stopped once inside, then turned to look at Alphonse, who was still watching him. He gave a small wave goodbye with that casual smile of his, then closed the window. Al then waved back just before Ed turned around and left the window.

Alphonse turned around to face his room, his mind spinning slightly, still wondering what had happened. All of a sudden, Ed had just… got up and left. It seemed so odd for him. It probably wouldn't have seemed that weird for anyone else, but to Alphonse, it just didn't seem like something Ed would do. And it had happened right after…

The brunette felt heat rise up into his cheeks again, just causing him to get even more upset. "Damnit, Alphonse, it wasn't that big of a deal," he half-shouted at himself. "All he did was touch your cheek, it… that doesn't mean anything."

Then, Winry's voice passed through his mind. '_What is it that you're doing to me?'_

Alphonse fell down onto his bed, suddenly feeling very tired. He didn't want to think about it. Deep down he knew he was putting it off, a little frightened at what answers might surface if he _would_ think about it. But all he wanted right then was sleep… yes, a nice nap would be-

_Knock knock. _

The brunette groaned from his position on the bed, but he sat up nonetheless and looked at his bedroom door. "Yeah?" he called.

"Alphonse?" his mother called back. "Can I come in?"

A little confused, Al answered, "Yeah sure."

The door opened, and his mother stepped inside the threshold. She looked around the room. "Was… someone in here just now?" she then asked, sounding confused herself. Alphonse's eyes widened slightly, but tried his hardest to suppress the surprise that had risen in him at her inquiry.

"Uhm… no, why?"

Her gaze trailed to the window, and Alphonse felt his heart rate pick up speed. Her violet eyes remained on the spot for a moment more, and then fell onto him. "I thought I heard you talking up here, and it sounded like there was more than one person."

As quick as he could, the boy came up with something. "Oh, that was the radio, I had it on for a few minutes."

She was silent for a moment more, looking at him, and for a moment he almost thought she wasn't going to believe him. But then she smiled and nodded. "Oh, okay then." She then looked like she was about to leave the room again, but then stopped and looked at Alphonse once more. "Oh, and sweetie, don't forget your father isn't coming home tonight, he's on that business trip. And I'm going out to meet him tomorrow, so we won't be back until Tuesday evening sometime."

He nodded, remembering them telling him earlier on that week at dinner about it. And with that, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Alphonse fell back onto his bed with a large groan, sleep claiming him within minutes.

* * *

Alphonse welcomed the next day back at school as though it was the first day of summer vacation. For some reason, the day before had been somewhat uneasy for him. Though it was probably only because the entire time he had been berating himself for only missing because he didn't want to see…

"Hey Al!" a familiar voice called out to him as he left the biology room. He stopped, waiting for the person to catch up. When Edward was next to him, they continued walking down the hallway. "Do you wanna work on the bio project with me?"

Even though Edward was in his senior year, with Al in his junior, Ed had somehow landed an integrated Biology class, with students of the two years in the same class. It was the same with his French class, which Al was in as well.

"Uh, yeah sure," Al answered. He maneuvered through the mass amounts of students leaving the building, and he was relieved once he made it out the front door of the building and into the fresh air. For some reason, Fridays always seemed so much more pleasant, even with the air chilly with oncoming autumn.

Ed grinned. "Great! So do you wanna just head straight to your house so we can get started?"

The younger teen pretended to ignore the spark of nervousness that went through him at the offer. "That's fine… but why not your house?"

He mentally slapped himself.

The blonde seemed to think about it for a moment. "Well my house is still a big mess from the move, and there really isn't anywhere efficient to do work," he stated.

Alphonse just nodded, trying his hardest to tell himself that it didn't matter that no one was going to be at home that night…

* * *

Both parents were off on a vacation. His father had left on business with his law firm to Indiana, and they decided that once he was done doing what he went out there to do, then his mother was going to go join him, and they'd be gone for a few days.

So Alphonse was alone until Tuesday, for the next four days. For as for that very point in time, he _wasn't_ alone. Edward was there.

'Why does it matter? Itdoesn'titdoesn'titdoesn't, he's only here so we can work on our school project, nothing els-,'

"It's really nice in here," Ed spoke as they entered the hallway, breaking Alphonse from his thoughts. "I've only seen your bedroom," he added, a joking smile playing upon his features.

"Oh, uh—yeah," Al couldn't help but smile, though still feeling a bit stupid. Edward dropped his bag by the door then proceeded to strip himself of the outer jacket to his uniform. Alphonse tried not to stare as the blonde then undid the first couple of buttons of his undershirt.

Then, to his horror, Ed had glanced over at him, their eyes meeting for not even a moment before Al quickly averted his gaze, blushing, and trying to busy himself by looking through his backpack for his biology notes.

He really, really just wanted to punch himself in the face and get it all over with. Maybe that would knock some sense into him, something that he seemed to have been lacking ever since the two of them met. Or maybe it was the conversation with Winry. Either way, all he wanted was to stop acting so idiotic and flustered around Ed all of the time. But still…

'_What is it that you're doing to me?'_

The brunette shook his head, pulled what they needed out of his backpack, then set It down next to Edward's.

"Ready?" Al asked, looking at Ed with the most casual smile he could muster. "You go on ahead to the study, we have encyclopedias and reference books in there. It's down the hall here, second door on the left. I'll go into the kitchen and get us something to drink, okay?"

Ed nodded. "Okay," he said with a smile, and then made his way down the hallway. Al watched him for only a moment before proceeding into the living room, and then into the kitchen. He managed to find the two of them a bag of chips to snack on, along with two cans of soda. Once he had it all in a strong enough hold so that nothing would fall, he began walking back to the study.

When he walked in, he saw Edward standing in front of the bookcase, looking at the different titles. Alphonse put the things on the table and then went to join him.

They ended up choosing two encyclopedias, and one book that was completely on their subject of genetics and heredity. The project itself wasn't difficult at all, and probably wouldn't take that much time – they had to write out a two-paged paper explaining the subject, then make a poster for a visual. It seemed much too middle school/ninth grade to Alphonse, but it wasn't like he could actually tell Mrs. Curtis that. (He shuddered at the thought) Normally, Alphonse wouldn't be so happily jumping to work on a school project, but even if for just an hour or two…

It would keep his mind off of the boy beside him.

* * *

Alphonse Ehrlic never thought he would see the day when he found himself… _disappointed_ that he was finished with homework, and wishing there was more to do. Other class work, maybe? No, it was Friday, and the teachers hardly ever gave homework over the weekend. He sighed and looked up at Ed, who was currently putting the book back on the shelf. The table in front of him was cluttered with sheets of notebook paper, the poster, scissors, tape, scrap paper, and chip crumbs, just to name a few things.

Al happily busied himself with cleanup duty, picking up what he could into his arms and heading back out to the kitchen. Minutes later though, Edward followed with what was left in the study in his own arms.

"So now all we have to do is type the paper, right?" Ed asked, balling up the empty chip bag and throwing it in the garbage.

"Yeah." He tossed the paper into the garbage following the chip bag. He looked over to the clock on the microwave. It was only 6:00. He stole a glance over at Edward, his mind beginning a war with itself.

'_Don't do it,' _it insisted. '_You'd be such a hypocrite to yourself, Alphonse. You can't avoid his very gaze this entire time, wishing you weren't alone with him, and then just go and ask-,'_

"It's only six, do you… wanna stay and watch a movie or something?"

He fought off the urge to stab himself in the head with the scissors in his hand. Ed looked up at him, a mildly surprised expression on his face. But then he smiled.

"Sure, why not?"

They finished cleaning up, all the while Alphonse mentally beating himself to death. It had been completely on impulse, he couldn't stop it from escaping his mouth, and now he was going to be alone with the guy for a few more hours. But the thing that was really bothering him was the fact that it _had_ escaped him, meant that some part of him… wanted to be alone with him.

'Alphonse, just stop thinking. Maybe that'll do you some good and save you some embarrassment one day.'

Once they were finished with everything, Alphonse walked into the living room and kneeled down in front of the TV stand, opening up the glass doors where all of the movies were. Suddenly then, he felt a weight on his shoulders.

Turning his head the best he could, he saw Ed leaning on him, both hands on either of Al's shoulders, peering over his head into the case of movies.

The brunette looked back in front of him, blushing slightly. "You go ahead and choose," he managed out as casually as he could.

"Hmm," was Ed's reply before lowering himself a bit so that his chin came to rest on the top of Al's head. He froze slightly, trying to ignore his heart beating quickly in his chest.

"You like musicals, Al?"

Alphonse nodded sheepishly, knowing that Ed had asked due to the several movie-musicals that resided on the top shelf. All were his, too.

"Really? Me too," he said with a smile in his voice.

This surprised him. "Really?"

Ed made a small noise in confirmation, then reached past Al's head and grabbed one of the DVD's. Al looked at it. '_The Phantom of the Opera'. _One of his favorites.

Alphonse had always felt a little silly for liking musicals so much, though not too much since there were tons of guys who went out for the school musical every year along with him. But he never thought he'd meet one who would sit and watch one with him like Ed was going to.

* * *

About an hour into the movie, Al began to feel the effects of the sleep schedule for an eleventh-grader. He rarely got more than six hours of sleep a night, and it always hit him on Friday nights just how bad it was for you to do so. The clock on the cable box read only 7:16pm, but it felt to him that it was past midnight. He glanced over at Edward, who was sitting right next to him on the leather sofa, and looking wide awake, staring intently as Christine and Raoul began making out on the screen.

For a fleeting, random moment, Alphonse wondered what it was like to be kissed like that… deep, passionate, loving… seeing as though he hadn't even had his first kiss yet, he always had sort of wondered, but now with this person next to him confusing him so much…

Al mentally shook his head, a blush rising to his cheeks. '_I'm just tired,'_ he thought. He stole another glance over at Ed again, whose eyes were still glued to the screen.

Alphonse took note of the total lack of space in between them then, despite the length of the couch. He could've sworn that they had begun the movie with at least a single cushion between them. Who had shifted, when, and how was completely beyond him, though. But… he couldn't find it in himself to think that he minded at all.

His eyes drooped a little, his head suddenly feeling very heavy. Silver optics drifted over to the boy next to him once again. He… he wanted to. The temptation was just too much. He was too sleepy, and Ed's shoulder looked too comfortable. And… what would it hurt, really?

So before he could decide against it, Alphonse shifted slightly, and then leaned his head against the blonde's shoulder. He felt Ed turn his head abruptly, his body stiffening a bit.

"Al?" he questioned softly. Al felt his body relax then, and his brought his arm up and around his small shoulders. Al's heart thumped in his chest at the added warmth. "You tired?"

The brunette muttered a small noise in response, nodding his head, which resulted in it coming to rest in the crook of Ed's neck.

The hand that was on Alphonse's shoulder moved up and down in a soothing rub. He held in a sigh of contentment. And as he had thought, it didn't take long for him to fall into a deep sleep.


	4. Getting There

**A/N: **OMG FINALLY! I'm SO sorry for the wait there, you guys. I actually really WAS busy, but I admit there were a few times where I was just being lazy. but now that musical's over, along with major testing, there shouldn't be this long of a wait again. AND this chapter's kind of short, and I apologize for that too. But the next with will be up soon, AND it will be long. promise :D

and remember, reviewing helps me write faster, and only takes a moment of your time :)

**Disclaimer: **see chapter one.

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_"Tell Me What It Means"_

Chapter IV - "Getting There"

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Alphonse regained his consciousness when a bright light began to shine onto his closed eyelids, followed by a strong pain going down his back. He let out a small noise of discomfort, blinking back the sunlight, and was about to get up out of his bed to close the curtains when he felt something heavy beside him.

Or rather… some_one._

His eyes shot open and he jumped back as far as he could go (not very far). And then, looking closer, all the memories of the previous day came back to him.

Edward was lying there on his back, his head propped up by the armrest of the couch, and if Alphonse had to guess, he would say that just a few seconds ago, he had been lying on top of him.

He colored, not even daring to question how they had ended up in such a position from the last place he remembered being when he fell asleep.

His heart hammered loudly in his chest as he stared at the boy before him. He'd never… seen Edward while he was asleep before. Usually tidily kept hair hung messily from what was formerly a ponytail, and his mouth hung open slightly, breath being drawn in and out quietly and peacefully. Silver orbs gazed up and down the sleeping form, in some kind of a trance.

Alphonse… he _wanted_ to be close to that beautiful form. The desire to be so swelled up in him suddenly, catching him off guard, almost frightening him. Slowly, he lowered himself back down onto the still-warm cushions, cautious of waking him up. Warmth engulfed his entire body as he lay there then, Edward's arm brushing against his abdomen. He wanted to snuggle closer, but resisted the urge, still trying to keep some sense of the situation.

The movement must've disturbed Ed though, for her began to stir. Far welled up within the brunette, feeling like he was about to get caught doing something he wasn't allowed to. Edward then let out a tired grumble and turned on his side to face Al, who – while all the more nervous with Ed facing him – felt relieved that he hadn't woken up.

"Mnn… Al?" Blue eyes drifted open then, looking dazedly into fearful silver ones. Well so much for him still being asleep.

Alphonse did his best to look as though nothing was out of the ordinary. "H-hey, Ed," he greeted. "You wanna get up?"

Edward didn't answer right away, but just began stretching. Then he nodded, much to Alphonse's relief, and sat up, rubbing at one eye.

"Fuck," Ed then blurted out, causing Al to jump. He looked at the blonde, who was holding his left eye in an odd way.

"What's wrong?" Al inquired, sitting up alongside him.

Ed continued to prod at his eye with one finger, while the other hand held the eyelid open. "I forgot to take my contacts out last night."

Alphonse blinked. "Really? You wear contacts?"

"A bit, yeah. Sometimes I don't really need them in, but other times I do, and it's not good for them to be left in all night."

A few minutes later, Ed succeeded in getting the small clear lens from both eyes, and pulled the container out of his pocket, placing both carefully inside. He set them on the table and said, "There, all good now."

Then he looked at Alphonse with a small smile, and Al was about to return the gesture before his heart stopped beating completely.

His eyes…

They weren't naturally blue. Without the contacts in, they…

Alphonse then felt himself sucked into one of his dreams, stuck in the darkness and unable to move at all. Unable to do anything but stare into those hypnotic, and painfully familiar eyes. Eyes the color of gold. Who's were they, what were they here for, why did they come to him, why, who, how, what-?!

…

'_What is it that you're doing to me?'_

…

"Al!"

The brunette jumped, looking wildly around for who had called him. He felt his heart pumping wildly in his chest, and he felt like he'd just run up and down the stairs five times, and it didn't help at all when his gaze met those same exact pair of golden optics. Around them, a picture began to melt into view, along with a face, body, and room in the background.

There was a weight on his right shoulder then, and it was then that he realized that the person sitting before him had their hand on his shoulder.

Then he found the ability to blink, trying to get the scene in front of him to focus quicker. It worked. Everything looked clear again, and the darkness gone. Though still, those eyes continued to stare on at him.

A name escaped his lips, "… Ed?"

…

'_How do you feel about him?'_

…

The blonde frowned, looking confused and a little worried. "Al? Hey, are you okay?"

For another moment more, Alphonse sat limp, staring forward, but then he shook his head. He breathed in deep, trying to regain the breath he couldn't remember losing.

"I… y-yeah," he managed to splutter out, forcing his gaze down to the couch, Winry's voice still fresh in his mind. "I just… had a dizzy spell, I'm fine." He smiled, and darted his eyes to Ed's before flinching and looking away again. He hoped to God that Ed didn't notice, but he knew he did. For a fleeting moment, he wondered why the issue with what he and Winry had spoken about a few days ago had come up out of nowhere, but he was done questioning things. Nothing ever answered itself.

"You sure?" Ed persisted. Alphonse managed a nod, trying to seem as fine as possible, and after a few minutes when the initial shock faded away, he seemed to be able to calm down quite a bit. Or maybe it was just because he was straining to do so quickly so that Edward wouldn't think he was crazy or something.

Then, without really meaning to, Al blurted out in attempt to break the odd silence, "Ed, were you in my room the other day while I was asleep?"

The question early caught Al off guard more than it did Ed. Both boys looked on wide-eyed at each other, looking surprised, and it was all Alphonse could do not to look away. Silence ensued for a few seconds, before Ed's expression melted into something a bit calmer, but not any happier.

"I… yeah, I was," he replied.

Al looked at him, unable to decide whether or not he should be more shocked that Ed had actually told him that he'd been in his room, or flustered by it.

"Why?" he inquired.

"I…" Alphonse thought he saw Edward blush. "I knew it was gonna rain, and I just noticed your bedroom window was open, and I really only meant to climb over and close it for you, but…"

Ed looked down uneasily. This was getting strange for Al; he'd yet to see Ed act as if he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Ed continued. "But I saw you sleeping so I… went in."

"But why?" he pried, feeling stupid for being nosy. But it had been his room Ed was in without permission, so he wasn't really being nosy, was he?

Edward looked even more anxious at this point, barely able to look Alphonse straight in the eye. "Honestly?" Al looked on at him, half-wondering… half-_hoping_ that he'd…

"I don't know."

Al's shoulders sagged. For a fleeting moment, he thought of asking about what Winry had heard him say, but all that came from his mouth was a small "Oh."

Ed looked at him. "You're not mad, are you?" he asked.

"Oh!" Al started, eyes suddenly going wide. "No, no I'm not, I just…" He trailed off. Edward raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

the brunette shook his head and smiled. "Never mind. Now why don't we get up? I'm a little hungry, and I can make us something for breakfast," he stated in the most casual voice possible, propping himself up with his hands. Ed blinked at him for a minute, then smiled jokingly.

"My, my, don't we sound like just the cutest little housewife," he teased. Al's eyes went wide again as a cherry-red blush spread across his cheeks. Ed sat forward.

"I gotta use your bathroom, but I'll be right back," he then told him before playfully tapping his pointer finger on the tip of Al's nose. He stood up off the couch and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Al staring after him.

"Stupid Ed," he muttered before getting off the couch himself.

* * *

Quite a few minutes later, the boy stood in the empty kitchen frying bacon in a skillet on the stove, four slices of bread in the toaster. He poked idly at the strips of bacon while his eyes kept darting off to the hallway on the other side of the room. Ed had been gone a while. He kept drumming his fingers on the countertop, debating on whether or not he should go check on him. 

But what business was it of his what Ed was doing in the bathroom? Well it _was _his bathroom.

"Oh this is stupid," Alphonse finally reprimanded himself. He turned and went into the living room, then down the said hallway, but stopped short when he heard muffled speaking. A little confused, he took small and slow steps forward toward the sound, and soon he realized it was coming from behind the bathroom door, and that it was Ed speaking. Al raised an eyebrow. '_Who in the world would he be talking to?'_

When he was finally outside the door, he got as close to it as possible without touching it so he could hear what Ed was saying.

"God, Dad, there's no reason to have a heart attack. I just fell asleep last night before I had a chance to call and let you know where I was."

Alphonse's mouth formed a small 'oh'. So it was his dad. Al guessed he was talking on a cell phone. Ed continued speaking.

"Yeah." A pause, and then, "A biology assignment." Another pause, longer this time. "No of course not!" he lashed out angrily, but quietly. Alphonse eyed the door, wanted to know what the question had been. Ed then continued to say, "You know I can't do that."

Al blew out his cheeks, the nosy side of him wanting to desperately to know what the conversation was about. It was odd though, Ed's tone as he said the last sentence. He almost sounded upset. He had his ear pressed to the door now, listening intently.

"Yeah, fine," his voice then stated, calmer this time. "Okay. Bye," followed by a 'snap' sound, indicating that he had closed his phone. Al didn't pull away, expecting maybe something else. It wasn't until he heard footsteps coming toward the door from the other side did he come to his senses. Panicking at the aspect of Edward catching him eavesdropping on him, he made his way down the hallway as fast as he could, and thankfully, before he heard the bathroom door open. He tiptoed as quickly as humanly possible back into the kitchen, where he did his best to look like he'd been tending to the bacon that entire time. Only a moment later Ed stepped into the kitchen and took a seat on one of the stools behind the counter.

"Sorry that took so long," Edward then said nonchalantly. "My dad called me, insisting on knowing where I was. Like he really cares."

The last statement kind of stuck on Al, but he figured it wasn't his place to inquire about it. He just said, "Yeah, I think I can relate. I forget to tell my parents I'm going anywhere, and all hell breaks lose."

He then turned and began sliding bacon off of the skillet and onto one of the two plates he'd set out previously, then proceeded to do the same with the toast and eggs. He slid one over in front of Ed, and kept one for himself.

After a few moments, Al looked up from his plate. "So what about your mom? Does she throw as many fits as your dad?" he asked in a joking voice. He was taken aback when Ed flinched at the question.

Silence floated between for what seemed like a while, and Al wondered if he'd said something wrong. Well obviously he had, or Ed would've said something by now, but what? Then in a small voice directed at his plate, Ed stated, "I don't have a mom."

It was Al's turn to flinch. "Oh, I… I'm sorry, I didn't-,"

Ed held up his hand and looked up at him. "It's fine, it's not your fault. And it was so long ago now, it doesn't bother me much anymore."

Al managed a small nod, but didn't really believe him. If it didn't bother him, he wouldn't have flinched at the question like he'd been slapped. And then there was that comment he'd made about his dad not caring where he was.

Alphonse couldn't help but wonder what Ed's family was like. And for once, it was out of concern more than curiosity.

* * *

Later that day, after Edward had left to go home, Al got a call from his mother while still on her trip. 

"Hi Alphonse sweetie, how are you?"

Alphonse smiled into the receiver, happy to hear his mother's voice. "Hey mom," he replied. "I'm fine, how's yours and dad's trip so far?"

Trisha sighed, but it had a happy sound to it. "Oh, it's been going fine, but your father's been at his business meeting for two hours now, leaving me all alone in our hotel room," she whined. Al smiled.

She proceeded to tell her son about the previous night, and the rest of their plans once Christopher was done with his business work.

"So what about you, Alphonse? It must be lonely there, have you had any company?"

Al flushed automatically, wondering what she would say if he told her that Ed had spent the night, not to mention that they'd slept together. "Well Edward was here yesterday for a while. We were working on a school project. He was here earlier today too."

It went quiet on her end, and Al wondered for a moment if the call had dropped, but then he heard her voice again. "Edward?"

"Oh… he moved into the house next door. Didn't I tell you I made friends with him?" He really knew he hadn't.

There was silence again before a small chuckle that sounded a little too forced for Al's liking. "Oh! Well that's wonderful, dear." Al raised an eyebrow, and on the other end he heard a door open and close.

"Oh, that's your father," she then said, her tone completely changed now. "Do you want to talk to him?"

Alphonse was silent for a moment, still dwelling on her odd reaction. But he shrugged it off. "Nah, that's okay. I'll let you go so you can get ready to go out. Just tell him I said hi."

"Okay Alphonse, I'll call again later in the week."

They said their goodbyes and Al placed the phone back on the hook. He looked on at it for a moment, as if waiting for something, but really he just thought. He remembered the other night when he'd first mentioned the neighbors to his parents, and how odd they had gotten. And then just now when he told his mother about Edward. Why…? What was it with them and the neighbors?

Alphonse shrugged, figuring it was best not to question it. They weren't forbidding him from associating with Ed, so that was the important thing.

* * *

On Monday afternoon, Alphonse and Edward managed to successfully pull off their biology project without a hitch, and with a perfect score as a result. (Alphonse knew this only happened because he had strained so hard to work as long as he could on the damn thing.) 

Alphonse also noticed that the two of them had formed a daily routine of walking to and from school together. Once in a while Winry would join them for half of the trip, but most days she stayed after with her clubs. Al had to admit though… that he really enjoyed those walks alone with him. No matter how much his mind tried to make more logical sense of it, he could only say that it was because he liked being around him. He had no clue what it was, whether it was just because Edward was such an enjoyable person to be around, or something _else_ that he just didn't want to think about. But either way, the fact remained that their walks together during the week were the highlights of his day.

Quite the change from a few days ago when he was trying to avoid the boy at all costs. But that past Saturday morning… had seemed to change everything.

"You're awfully quiet today," Ed stated halfway through their trek home. Alphonse broke from his reverie to look over at the blonde, and gave him a small smile.

"Am I ever really loud?"

Ed shrugged. "I guess not." They exchanged smiles, something Al noticed they'd been doing a lot. For some reason, Winry came into his mind, and he couldn't help but imagine how much she would tease him if she saw them acting like this.

"I can't wait to get home," Ed stated a few minutes later. He hunched over with an over-exasperated expression. Al looked at him.

"Why?"

They turned onto their street. Ed stood back up and folded his hands behind his head. "Eh, I haven't been feeling very well today. I'm looking forward to a nice nap."

"Oh, are you okay?"

Blue eyes turned and looked up at him. Al's mind came to a halt for only a moment, the memory of how gold those eyes really were coming back to him. Edward smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just need some sleep."

Al blinked at him for a second, before giving a small 'okay' and looking back out ahead of him.

* * *

Edward didn't show up to school the next two days, and if one day wasn't enough, by the second day Alphonse was about to go insane. He wasn't usually a very argumentative person with others, but with himself, he could debate about something for quite a long time. So for a whole two days, Al argued with himself about what to do. 

He wanted to know why Ed was missing, or why he hadn't let him know in some way about it. All he'd said the other day was that he was tired, right? He should've been fine. But what if it turned out to be something really bad? How long is he gonna be out of school?

And that was just one side. The other side was putting up quite the fight as well. For example, what business was it of his really, why Ed was out of school? And two days isn't that big of a deal? He probably just has a little chest cold, he'll be fine. Really, it'd be too weird for him to go check on Ed, even if he did come check on him when he weren't really even sick.

Even Winry decided to tease him for not knowing where Ed was. ("You didn't go see him? He lives right next to you, doesn't he? All you have to do is climb across that tree and knock on his window.")

Finally, on Thursday after school (and a third day Edward failed to show up), Alphonse made up his mind to go to Ed's house and see if he was okay. He had to admit he was worried anyway; even he'd never missed a whole three days of school for sickness, unless it was something serious.


	5. To Decide

A/N: can't say much here since I'm at school right now trying to upload this before the teacher comes in and kills me :P but yeah, this is a REALLY long one, so I hope you guys like it! and I bet you're happy with how fast I got it up :D I'm proud of myself, ahaha. oh, and one of the scenes in here is like... really similar to one of my one-shots, and I didn't mean for it to come out that way, aha. I swear I didn't copy and paste (joke). 

Disclaimer: see chapter one, and the song used in here is called "This Never Happened Before", by Paul McCartney. From _'The Lake House'_. (GOOD MOVIE) XD.

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_"Tell Me What It Means"_

Chapter V - "To Decide"

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Climbing across that tree proved to be harder than it looked. It was annoying, too. He didn't know how Ed could stand doing it after the first time. Al had never been good at outdoor activities such as climbing, and he kept slipping over the branches, attaining small scratches on his arms. But, somehow, he managed to make it all the way across, and he could only be thankful that Ed's window was open. He grabbed hold of the windowsill and hoisted himself up on his elbows.

The room was painted a slate blue, and it was obvious that Ed had only moved in a short while ago. There was still a number of boxes piled by the wall, and the only other things in the room was a hamper full of clothes, a dresser, and a bed that was by the wall with the window.

And on the bed, there was not only one person,

But two.

Al's eyes widened a bit. There slept Ed, golden hair unbound and spread across not a pillow, but someone's lap. A girl's lap.

His chest tightened uncomfortably as he looked at her (he was surprised she hadn't noticed him yet). Her fingers combed through his hair in soft strokes, with an even softer expression on her face as she stared down at him. She was pretty. Thin, with a slightly darker skin complexion than Ed's. Her hair was odd though, pink bangs, with the rest of it brown and back in a ponytail.

Al made a small noise without entirely meaning to though, and her head snapped up, violet eyes widening.

For a moment, neither moved, both staring at the other with shocked expressions. Alphonse thought for sure she was going to scream, or jump up and push him out or something. Anything other than what she did.

Her expression softened a bit, almost looking sad, as if she had come to some realization. Then she averted her gaze back down to Ed, and as gently as she could, she lifted his head from her lap and rested it back on his pillowed before she sat up from the bed. Al was thankful for some reason that he didn't wake up.

Then she walked over to him and offered him her hand. He blinked at her, wondering what the in the world she thought she was doing. She didn't even know who he was or why he was there, so why was she going to help him into her friend's room?

Alphonse couldn't help but cast his eyes downward for a moment as he wondered if that's all she was…

"C'mon Alphonse, I'll help you up," she then said. He shot his gaze back up, eyes wide now, and confused as hell. Still though, he decided to give her his hand and allow her to assist him inside. "Uhm… thanks," he managed as he planted his feet firmly on the carpeted floor. But instead of giving him a small and a 'you're welcome' like he thought she would, she just stared at him with the most peculiar look on her face. Her eyes were fixated on him, and she looked almost like she wanted to reach out for him, but held off. Alphonse almost asked her if she was all right.

"Alphonse? Is it…?" she spoke, taking a step toward him. He took a step back, starting to feel a little scared.

"Uh…" How the hell did she know his name? Had Ed told her about him? Even then, why was she acting so bizarre?

If possible, her eyes grew even larger. She took another step. "Is it you, really? Oh my God, Alphonse, I can't believe it!"

Okay, now he was scared. There was no more room behind him unless he went back out the window, and she kept coming closer.

"You're so tall! And your hair, you grew it out, what are-,"

"Rose."

They both froze at the voice, and turned to look over at the bed, where Ed was sitting up now. He rubbed at one eye while he stared at them with the other. Alphonse couldn't hold back the flinch that came when he saw that Ed didn't have his contacts in.

"Oh, Edward I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed, rushing over to him and kneeling down. "I woke you up."

"Yeah, you did, but it's fine." He looked away from her and over to Alphonse, who still had a frightened look on his face.

"Hey, Al," he offered with a smile, causing the brunette to blush slightly. "Sorry about my cousin here, she's a little crazy."

"I am not," she huffed. "That's Alphonse-!"

"Yes, Rose. He lives next door, and we met last week when I moved in," he explained in a tone that sounded like he was speaking to a child. She fell silent though, still frowning at the blonde.

"Al, this is Rose," he then stated, looking back over at the younger boy. He blinked for a moment, the pieces coming together a little bit.

"Oh! Well, uh… hi," he managed out, still feeling a bit frightened of her. She turned to him with a sudden smile, but something in her eyes looked upset.

"Hey, Alphonse, nice to meet you. Ed's told me a lot about you, I guess that's how I knew who you were." She gave a small laugh and a shrug.

An odd silence followed after that, but then Ed bonked the girl on the head. "Don't you have a ton of schoolwork to get done before you go home?" he asked. Al's eyes widened slightly.

"It's almost four o'clock anyway, you should head back. I'll be fine."

She looked on at him for a moment, looking like she wanted to protest, but then just smiled. "Yeah I guess you're right." She stood up then, but leaned down a little to give him a hug.

"Thanks for stopping by," he spoke into her shoulder as he hugged her back.

Alphonse watched with a tight knot in his stomach, feeling out of place.

A minute later, she left the room with a smile and a wave to both boys, and then they were alone.

"So whattcha doing here, Al?" Ed inquired, snapping the boy out of his trance. Al jumped, looking over at the blonde.

"Oh, uh…" He rubbed at the back of his neck uneasily. "I… well, you haven't been in school, and you didn't tell me why, so I figured something must be wrong, so I-,"

Ed held up a hand, silencing him successfully. "Thanks, Al," he said with a small smile.

The brunette blushed and looked down at the floor in hopes that Ed wouldn't notice. "It's nothing. Are you… feeling better?"

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Still got a few kinks to work out, but I'll live."

Silence ensued for a few moments then, while Al racked his brain for something to say.

"So, uh… Rose – does she live close by?"

Ed nodded simply, then gestured to the chair over by the desk for Al to sit in, who went to drag it over by the bed and sit down in it.

Ed went on to explain. "Well, for right now she's in town for some regional soccer competition with her home school team. She really lives on the West Coast, and we see each other on holidays and such. But when she's given free time during the week she'll be here, she comes over here to visit."

Al muttered a small 'oh' in response. '_She was acting so bizarre, though, like she knew me. But she didn't look familiar to me, and her name didn't ring any bells…'_

Then something else popped into his mind. "Oh! So where's your Dad?" he inquired. Ed averted his gaze indifferently. "I dunno. Still at work, I guess. He has different hours every day."

His tone was identical to how it had been the previous weekend when he's first spoken to Alphonse about him. It was hard for the younger boy to imagine disliking his own Father so much, especially if he was the only parent you had all of your life.

"Ed? Can I…" Alphonse it his lip, feeling as though he were intruding on something he wasn't he had no business with. "Can I ask why you don't like your Dad?"

The blonde frowned. Something Al had only seen him do one other time, which was also that same Sunday morning. It made him want to put the nosy question back behind his lips.

"He… let something dear to me disappear from my life when I was just three," he said then, his voice as distant and cold as an oncoming rainstorm. Alphonse looked on, now seeing a side of Ed that he'd yet to see. But beyond that, what he'd just said…

"Someone as young as I had been at the time," Ed continued, eyes narrowing at the carpet. "Should never have known the kind of hatred I felt for him then. Sure, over the years, he's tried to make up for it, I guess. He's hardly ever cross with me, and doesn't treat me indifferently. He just gives me my space, I suppose. But… I could never let what happened go. I can't let him forget, and that's why I can't truly love him as my father."

Alphonse was left speechless. He'd never heard anyone talk in such ways before, and about their parents, let alone from this boy who always was so calm and collected about things.

"What… did he do?" he asked then, unable to stop himself. "What happened?"

Edward didn't respond for quite some time, his gaze still stuck strong on the floor. Then, in a voice that sounded more like a hiss, he said, "He let my Mother leave us."

Again, all Al could do was stare. He remembered Ed telling him he didn't have a mother, but he hadn't said why.

"And I hate her just as much for it, if not more. It was her idea to leave, and my Dad just let her go as though he didn't even care. There weren't even any arguments between them about it. She just left, and he might as well have seen her out the door. Neither of them cared about the opinion of a three-year-old."

Edward's voice was filled to the brim with anger now/ His body shook, and he lowered his head further so his bangs covered his face from Al's view, who still stared at the sight before him. He was completely dumbstruck, unable to think of anything to say or do. All he _could _do at that moment was feel sympathy. He'd lived a wonderful life with an unbroken family, and a mother and father who both loved him and each other, and who he loved just as much. But Ed had no mother, and a father he hated. Alphonse had no clue how to even tell him not to feel so badly about it.

Then, biting his lip again, Al hoisted himself from the chair and onto the bed next to the blonde. Edward lifted his head, confused, but was pulled back down against Al's chest as his arms came around his neck. He was a little nervous about doing it, but if it would help just a little, then…

"I won't pretend to know what you're going through," he then stated, gazing at the other side of the room over Ed's mop of gold hair. "But I want to help you with it. I've heard quite a few times that when family fails you, then you have to lean on your friends."

Al felt Ed begin to relax. "And you said we were friends, right? So if there's anything I can do, even if it's just sitting and listening, then you better let me know."

"Al…"

Ed fully relaxed into him, tentatively bringing his arms up and around Al's waist. He didn't cling too tightly, though. The churning of Al's stomach began to subside, and an odd feeling of contentment welled up within him. It almost felt like this was something he'd done before on a number of occasions, and didn't feel at all uneasy about it anymore. Something in his mind told him he truly wanted to help the older boy in any way he could. And though he could just say it was because he was his friend, he knew it wasn't going to be that easy to explain.

It was then that Al felt the body held in his arms begin to shake lightly. A bit startled, he looked down at the top of Edward's head to see his whole body trembling.

Silver optics blinked in surprise. He moved a hand to pat his shoulder. "Hey," he spoke. "Ed, you okay?"

The blonde didn't look up or respond, but actually clung tighter to Al, hands fisting the back of his shirt.

"Alphonse..."

Al felt his heart rate pick up considerably. That was the first time since they'd met that Ed had called him by his whole name, and his voice when he'd said it… desperate, choked, it sounded like he was…

Alphonse's eyes widened at the realization. "Ed… Edward, hey," he persisted, shaking his shoulder now. "Geez, what's wrong?"

The tremors in his body were going on and off now. Slowly, he lifted his head from the brunette's chest, but still kept his face hidden with his unbound hair. Al stared down at him, thoroughly alarmed now. What had him so upset all of a sudden?

Hesitantly, and unsure of what he was doing, Alphonse lowered his hand to touch Edward's temple. From there, he moved his thumb carefully to where his eye would be. And, as he had thought, there was moisture. Tears.

"Ed, you're crying!" Completely worried now, Al put both of his hands on either side of the older boy's head and guided it upward. Indeed there were tears pooling in those haunting golden eyes, which gazed half-lidded past Alphonse's face, obviously a little embarrassed.

"Ed, look at me, what the hell is wrong?"

Gold finally met silver, very tentatively, and Alphonse could've sworn that the amount of tears in his eyes actually increased. He was surprised he wasn't speechless at this point.

"Alphonse," Ed repeated, his voice just above a whisper now. The younger boy's heart thumped in his chest, his face burning up, and unable to do anything but stare at the still-trembling person in his arms. There was a faint red hue to Ed's face as well, and Al wondered idly if it was from his fever.

Ed spoke again, huddling even closer. "I'm… having a hard time thinking things through before I do them." His voice still seemed like he was trying to keep an immense amount of emotion back. Al swallowed hard, his neck arching back a little ways as Ed continued to inch closer. "Everyone says I'm too impulsive."

It was then, with those words, that Al seemed to come out of his stupor, and jerked away. Roughly. He stood up and away from the bed, his chest tightening into a painful knot of nervousness. Edward stared up at him, one of his arms slightly outstretched from where it had been around Al's waist. His eyes were wide, something resembling fear lingering in them. Alphonse tried to speak. But what could he say? Still though, he managed to mumble out something about having to leave, and then stumbled out of the room. He made his way down the stairs, and out the front door of an unfamiliar house. He said a silent thank you that Ed's father hadn't been home, even though that would've been the least of his worries.

It wasn't until he was in his own home and in his room did he finally let out the breath he'd been holding. His heart began to slow down, but still he felt as though he were shaking. Instinctively, his hand lifted to gingerly touch his mouth, trying with all his might to keep his mind from thinking of what would have been there if he hadn't jumped away when he had.

* * *

Sleep refused to come to him that night. Try as he might, his eyelids kept drifting open and staring out of the window, and his mind wandering to what was across the way from it. The moon shone in too brightly, seeming at that moment even more persistent than the sun, blinding him, and keeping him awake even when his body and mind felt exhausted.

Groaning, Alphonse kicked the blankets off and sat up in his bed. He swung his legs over the side, stood up, and left the room. The alarm clock on his nightstand shone green lights into the dark room. 1:42 am. He wandered to the front hallway, and went outside onto his front porch. The cool May air blew through his unbound hair, but it wasn't cold enough to make him shiver. He went and sat on the porch swing, using his feet to push himself lightly back and forth, his gaze drifting across the street, but not really looking at anything in particular.

He felt a little scared then. Not only was he confused as hell about what had happened, but he was scared as well. He worried that Ed would completely shut himself off from him because he had almost… because of what he did, and not want to talk to him at all. And Alphonse wanted to say something to him, to let him know that it…

That it what? Hadn't bothered him? That it was fine? Both were lies, but still… why wasn't he upset about it?

The whole thing had made things a little clearer, though. Alphonse would like to think that while he wasn't the brightest person he knew, he wasn't dense, and when something happens like what had earlier, he just cannot deny what must really be going on in Ed's mind. He wanted to come up with some kind of explanation, that maybe Ed had been acting out of delirium from his fever, but he'd been completely coherent minutes before. So… the fact of the matter had to be that he felt something a little more than just friendship for Alphonse. Friends don't almost… kiss friends. Not in the way he had wanted to, anyway. And even with this realization, Al still couldn't find it in him to really be bothered by it. The only thing that did was the fact that he couldn't figure out how the hell he himself really felt.

The sound of a door opening and closing then caught his attention, his head instinctively turning in direction of the noise, and watched with wide eyes as Edward walked down the concrete path across his front lawn, a garbage bag held tight in on hand.

Al blinked. '_Odd chore to be doing at nearly two in the morning.'_

Ed proceeded to drop the bag in one of the plastic bins by the street, and Al keeping completely still as he began to walk back. Maybe if he didn't move, he wouldn't notice him.

But, as always, luck wasn't on his side.

Halfway back to his own front door, Edward's gaze had lifted lazily upwards, then back down and to his left. He saw Al there, and his eyes widened as if he'd locked gazes with a ghost. He froze mid-stride, Al mid-swing.

The brunette wanted so badly to say something, maybe even coax the other boy over so they could talk. But before he was able to gather enough courage to do so, Ed pulled himself out of the intense stare, and disappeared into his house.

Alphonse's heart sank down to his stomach, and he fell back against the swing with a sigh. He sat there for a few minutes longer, hoping maybe Ed might come out again, but when he didn't, he went back inside.

He didn't bother going up the stairs. He knew he wouldn't get any rest up there, fear of seeing Edward across the way from his window too great. He walked into the living room, where he collapsed down onto the couch. Sleep came pretty easily then.

* * *

The next morning, Al's mother woke him up with a queer expression on her face, inquiring why on earth he'd slept down there. He came up with some lame excuse about his bed feeling too uncomfortable.

He thought for a long while throughout the course of the day what to do. Surely Ed wouldn't do anything, and leave Al to himself, probably convinced he was either angry as hell, or freaked out as hell. So if he wanted to clear the awkwardness up, Alphonse knew he would have to go talk to him himself. And somewhere in his mind, he somehow came up with a plan that he thought might actually work.

So, after dinner, Al lied to his parents by telling them he was going out with Winry for a while, and left. He strode over to the neighboring house, its windows gleaming orange in the sunset's reflection.

He had no clue what to say, and he was as nervous as could be. He could barely believe he was actually going to go through with it, but before he had a chance to lose his courage, he knocked on the front door. It seemed like a full ten minutes before he heard someone behind it, yelling about something, and then it opened, familiar blue eyes going from casualty to shock-slash-fear.

Alphonse stood still for a moment, wishing for a second that he were safe and back in his room. He wasn't used to actually dealing with his problems right away, and face to face. But he stood there, forcing himself to stop fiddling with his hands, placing them at his sides.

"Ed, I-,"

A voice from within the house interrupted him. "Who is it?"

Ed turned back into the doorway, yelling back, "No one!" before closing the door and stepping fully outside. He looked at the ground for a moment, then past Al's right ear. Al thought about asking if his father was home, but thought better of it. Though he still had no clue what to say.

After a few moments of crushing silence, Alphonse took a breath and said in the most casual voice he could muster, "Are you busy right now?"

That got Ed to look at him directly, confusion in his expression. Al gave him a smile, hoping it would explain all that he felt too awkward to say.

"What?"

"I wanna show you a bit of downtown. You interested?"

Ed fell silent, looking both confused and guilty now. He swallowed. "But Al, I…"

The brunette just put up his hand to silence him. "Just come on. It'll be fun."

So he wasn't facing the issue. He was acting like it didn't happen. But so long as it just went away for the time being…

Again Ed looked surprised, but at last allowed himself a smile, looking both relieved and happy at the same time. Then he nodded, and walked down the small steps from his front door.

"We'll take my Dad's van," he said, gesturing to the blue vehicle in the driveway. Alphonse again thought of asking something, if it was okay to just take it without him asking, but didn't. He sat himself in the passenger's seat with Ed in the driver's. He started it up, they backed out, and soon they were on their way downtown.

During the entire ride, Al could tell that Ed wanted to say something, ask something. Most likely of why he had forgiven him for what he almost did, or more so for how he felt about him. Al was thankful he kept the conversation away from it all, as if it hadn't happened. He didn't think he could answer such questions.

As they neared their destination, the sun went further down until it was just a faintly glowing orange line on the dark violet horizon. The air blowing in from the vehicle windows began to smell salty from the ocean, light and clear. Alphonse always loved going down by the ocean, just because everything seemed so much clearer; the air, the atmosphere… everything.

"How about we go down to the boardwalk?" Al then suggested, noticing that they weren't far from it.

Ed nodded. "Sure."

Al then instructed him on which turns to take and where to park, explaining that they'd have to walk a bit to get there. When the car pulled into an empty spot along the street, and the two climbed out of the vehicle, he was just glad he hadn't gotten them lost. It had been quite a while since he'd been down there, and it wasn't like he'd ever driven there himself before.

The walk to the pier wasn't a long one, just down a street to where the sidewalk ended and was taken over my wooden planks over the water. The sun had disappeared completely by that time, and the lampposts had since been lit along the railings of the docks. It was a Friday night, so there was quite a lot of people, but somehow Al's mind was able to focus solely on himself and the person next to him. Everyone else was just a blur of color and sound. Little shops and souvenir stands lined the walk, along with small restaurants and ice cream sellers. Alphonse wasn't one for crowded places, but he had always liked this place. Probably because it was on the water. Something about water had always calmed him.

He then recalled Ed telling him the same thing on the night they'd mad. He liked going out on boats and spending time on large bodies of water like lakes or oceans. He thought that maybe, in the back of his mind, that's why he'd chosen to come to the boardwalk.

Then he remembered something. "You know there's a boat that goes out on the river every two hours or so," Al mentioned in hopes that Ed would say something. "Do you wanna do that?"

The blonde glanced up at him, actually looking interested. "Really? Well yeah, that sounds nice."

Al smiled. "We should go buy our tickets now then, I don't know when it'll be coming back."

Ed nodded and followed him past two more stores where he took a turn to the other side of the pier. Once at the stand, the woman working there told them that the next departure would be in an hour, and they purchased their passes.

As they walked around a bit more, Al was glad when Ed asked if they could go into one of the shops. As he followed him in and through the different shelves, Al just watched him. The older blonde had been quiet nearly the entire time, and Al could only guess why. Ed obviously felt awkward around him, and Al didn't blame him. He felt awkward himself, but he was trying his best to just pretend like nothing happened. He knew this wasn't the best road to go on, but for now he just wanted to have a good time to forget things for a bit. Maybe getting away from the issue, but still be with Ed might help his mind finally decide what it was that he felt about him.

It just… seemed so odd, that all of this would be plausible. They'd only met barely two weeks ago, and right away it had seemed like something was off. Alphonse felt comfortable around someone he barely knew, and Ed trusted in Al enough to have told him about his family, even seeking comfort in his arms…

Al's heart fluttered at the memory. Somehow, he'd forgotten about it amongst what had happened right after. But it returned to him – the memory of holding Ed close to him, and Ed clinging right back. It had been soft, warm, and so new to him, though somehow coming naturally.

In the very least, Alphonse knew that the boy walking next to him was special. Somehow, in an incredibly short amount of time, he'd managed to become an important part of Al's life. He just had to figure out which part that was.

* * *

Later, when Alphonse and Ed were aboard the ship and it was pulling out of the docks, the brunette was relieved to see Ed actually acting excited. He even grabbed Al by the hand and dragged him to the front of the ship once they were a good distance from the pier. Neither said much as they stood behind the railing, watching the city drift by slowly.

"I've never been down here at night before," Ed spoke then, catching Al off guard. "It's beautiful."

There was a smile on his face, and Al couldn't help but smile as well. "Yeah, it is." Silence followed again after that.

It hadn't been a very cold night, but with the chill from the wind, Al involuntarily shivered.

Ed noticed. "You cold, Al?"

Al, embarrassed, waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Nah, I'm fine."

"Well, I'm a bit chilly, so do you mind if we head inside for a little bit?"

"Uh… sure, I'm fine with that."

They turned to walk away from the railing, heading for the double doors to the upstairs part of the boat's interior. They stepped inside the bright room, and the music that they had barely been able to hear outside was now clear and loud. The top floor was more of a balcony, with just tables and seats, but a huge opening where you could see below to the dance floor. Quite a number of people could be seen moving around to a song that Al heard daily on the radio. He didn't much care for it.

"You wanna go downstairs or stay up here?" Ed asked.

Al looked around. There were only a few people on their level, so he guessed they were all either outside, or with everyone else downstairs. But he always preferred less-crowded places, and the view of the city would be better higher up, so…

"Can we stay here? If you don't mind?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, sure. Downstairs seems too crazy right now."

Al walked forward and sat down at one of the many tables along the wide windows, on the side of the large room where no one else was sitting. There were three other groups of people up there with them, but he could barely make them out with the railing in the way. So he and Ed were practically alone.

He averted his attention to the window, looking down at the river, sparkling with the reflections of lights from within the city. Below them, a new song began to play.

A few minutes passed before Al heard Ed clear out his throat. He glanced at him without turning his head, and saw that he was staring fixatedly at the table.

"Hey, Al?"

The younger cringed at the sound of his voice. He sounded nervous. And just when he thought things were gonna be okay for the rest of the night…

But Al pretended not to sound reluctant in answering, and just smiled. "Yeah?"

Ed paused for a moment, then flicked something from the table that Al couldn't see. "I… well I wanted to say thanks for inviting me out tonight. I think I needed it."

Al nodded, but knew that wasn't what he _really _intended to say.

"But, I… there's something that's… I mean, I need t-to tell you something," he stammered out, catching Al's gaze for a split second before staring down at the table again. Alphonse's heart began to beat a little faster, suddenly feeling scared. He barely noticed another song start playing on the first floor, a slower one this time.

"I don't even know if I _should_ tell you," Ed continued. "It's, well… I just don't think it's fair to you at all that I-,"

Ed stopped short as Al, quite out of nowhere, brought his hand down atop Ed's, and roughly. For a long moment, both were too surprised to say anything, but then Al finally decided to speak.

"Do you like this song?" he inquired. '_Oh, what are you_ doing_?! You're acting like a crazy person!'_

Ed just blinked at him, his eyes wide. "I, uh…" he trailed off as he watched Al jump up from his chair, tugging on Ed's hand with his own.

"Come on, dance with me," he said in a forced-excited tone. He had no clue why he was acting so completely bizarre, he was probably making Ed feel even more awkward than he already did, and he could _really _punch himself, but…

Something told him he wasn't ready to hear what Ed wanted to tell him. And he had to do something before he said it.

Ed continued to stare up at the brunette, completely bewildered. "Al, I-,"

Al gave him another tug, feeling his stomach give an uncomfortable turn. "Just come on. Please? I like this song."

"_I'm very sure this never happened to me before I met you. And now I'm sure… this never happened before."_

To Al's utter surprise, Ed's expression calmed a bit and he stood up from his seat as well. Though while his expression was calmer, it wasn't happy. He looked almost somber, or defeated. Al gave him a shaky smile, but Ed was looking downstairs.

Nervousness swept over Al. Was Ed mat at him? Trying to stay as calm as possible, Al just proceeded to place him and Edward in slow-dancing stance, his other hand resting on his waist. Ed looked surprised again, and Alphonse could've sworn he saw his cheeks go slightly red.

He really had no clue in the world what he was doing. Not only had he quite rudely interrupted Ed in telling something that was obviously important to him, but now he was dancing with him, as though it were completely normal to do so. He averted his gaze upward to the off-white ceiling and started stepping in time with the music. Ed followed in suit, looking determinedly out of the window. Al was grateful that none of the other people on their floor could really see them, even if that would be the least of his worries at the moment.

"_Now I see this is the way it's supposed to be – I met you. And now I see this is the way it should be."_

Al glanced down to Ed, slowly letting his eyes travel away from the ceiling. The older boy looked like he was almost staring off into space. Probably thinking. Either that, or horribly uncomfortable. Al wouldn't be able to blame him. God, he felt so _stupid._

Ed looked up then, sensing Alphonse's gaze on him. Al felt his heart pick up speed even more as their gazes locked, and was amazed when Ed didn't look away. Then, Ed did something that made Al feel so much better.

He smiled. It was small, and uneasy, but a smile nonetheless. Al bit back a sigh of relief, and smiled as well. They continued dancing, their movements becoming less stiff and awkward. Al felt his whole body beginning to move back and forth instead of just his feet.

The song began to surround him, becoming the very essence of his movements. Slowly, Al moved his hands further around Ed's back, drawing the blonde closer. Ed glanced up at Al for a split second in surprise before looking away again, an even deeper blush forming on his cheeks. Al figured his were just as red though, so he didn't pay much mind to it. And, going even further into the melody's small trance, Al leaned his head downward and rested his chin on Ed's shoulder. Ed stiffened a bit in response, but kept dancing.

"_So come to me. Now we can be what we want to be. I love you, and now I see this is the way it should be."_

"Al?" he spoke hoarsely.

He didn't respond, except for a small nuzzle closer. He felt like his entire mind was gone, and he was floating from somewhere far away, and just watching himself do all these things. But Ed felt so warm, and the memory of when he'd held him came back once again. It had felt nice then, but now it was like something entirely different; better. He felt like he couldn't control his body at all, but didn't mind, either.

He almost broke from his dream-like state when he felt Ed pull his right hand away from Al's, but felt his heart flutter when he just slowly moved it upward and onto his shoulder. Al felt both hands snake tentatively around the back of his neck, giving small caresses as they did so. The blonde's head had long since fallen into the crook of Al's neck. Instinctively, Al wound his hands around the small of Ed's back.

And both boys were so entranced with the half-dance, half-embrace, neither noticed the song come to an end, the singer letting out the last verse.

"_Now I'm sure this never happened before. This never happened before…"_

It was only when another song started playing did their feet stop moving. Slowly, they pulled away just far enough to look on at one another, but still holding onto each other. Again, Al felt something inside him take over, and he leaned down once more to plant a warm kiss atop the blonde's forehead. His lips lingered on the soft skin for what felt like a while before a loud '_boom' _sound startled both out of contact.

Bright lights began to fill the dark shy from outside the windows, and Al heard people starting to move quickly outside, more booming sounds going off. He put two and two together, and realized what it was with a broad smile.

"Fireworks!" he exclaimed. "Come on, we have to go outside!"

He took hold of Ed's hand and dragged him to the doors they had come in before, and somehow managed to find an unoccupied spot by the railing where the two of them just fit, side by side. People were still coming up the steps from down below, all gathering around, children laughing, and adults hurrying each other up to get a good spot. But the fireworks were being set off down at the boardwalk, so anywhere was a good spot, really.

Al had completely forgotten that he hadn't let go of Ed's hand until he felt it shift inside his own. He colored a bit, but the initial embarrassment faded when Ed just moved his hand to interlock their fingers together. Silver optics turned away from the show of colorful lights to drink in the sight of a certain shade of blue that he found just as mesmerizing. For a while, he just looked on, but then smiled and squeezed the blonde's hand.

* * *

The ride home that night was quiet, neither saying more than a few words, but somehow, it wasn't an awkward silence. Alphonse would've thought that after all that had happened… not that it was _that _big of a deal… there would be complete discomfort in not saying anything. Even after the firework show had ended, the two of them walked around the boat, carrying on to one another about this and that, as thought nothing had happened. Everything had been perfectly normal.

Well, unless you count the fact that they didn't let go of each other's hands until they got back to the car.

But that was just a small detail, right? They'd held hands for more than an hour, and Al still felt reluctant to let go so he could get inside the van.

'_Yeah Alphonse, really small,' _he mocked himself.

"Al?" Ed's voice called then. Al looked over to him and then noticed that they were in his driveway, his own house just a few feet away.

"Oh, uh… sorry, was dazing off," he said sheepishly, feeling stupid. He opened the door to the van and clambered out. He shut the door and began walking around to the driver's side, where Ed was closing his own door. They stood there for a moment, looking on at one another.

So much for the awkward feeling being gone.

"I'll, uh… see you later then," the blonde stated, his voice pleasant. Al just nodded and smiled. "Yeah."

For a second more, they both stood still, but Alphonse made the first step to move toward his house, Ed following suit. They nodded to each other, and then turned completely toward their own houses. Al went up his steps and onto his porch, pausing only momentarily at the door, staring at the brass handle. Then he shook his head, and went inside.

Closing the door behind him, he fell back against it, feeling his head start to hurt. He gazed up with a forlorn expression at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was wrong. He'd been fine just minutes ago in the car, and nothing was even going on. Now he gets into his house and he feels like he's about to –

A loud knocking caused Al to jump nearly a foot off the floor, nearly letting out a yelp in surprise. He bit it back though, knowing it was fairly late and his parents were asleep. He knew the knocking had come from right behind him on the other side of the door, but still he just stared at it, as if the person doing the knocking would reveal themselves.

The knocking came again, a little more persistent this time. This time, Al reached out and opened the door hesitantly, already half-knowing who it was.

And there Edward stood, his expression serious, but seemingly scared as well.

"E-Ed?"

The blonde took a breath. "Al," he stated firmly, pursing his lips. As if to add emphasis to his expression and tone, he took a step inside the threshold, Al taking a step backward as he did so.

"Al, I need to talk to you."

The brunette felt his stomach drop. He'd nearly forgotten about the instance earlier on the boat when he'd tried to talk to him. His face must've shown a visible negative reaction, for Ed then said, "I wouldn't… bring it up if it wasn't important."

Silence then, Al having no clue what to say. What could he do now? But then, there shouldn't be anything, for there was no reason to not let Ed say what he wanted to say. He was just being completely stupid and impulsive, acting on his crazy sense of logic, which had been nothing but useless ever since…

Edward took another step forward, but his expression began to soften into something a little more desperate, as though he didn't know what to do from there. "Al, please… I'm… scared. This is probably so awkward for you, for me to be acting like this toward you."

Al's heart pounded against his ribcage, fear welling up within him like a curse. It was winding its way up his spine and throughout his body. '_Do something… do anything before he says it…'_

The older boy continued. "This is really hard for me…" He faltered for a moment, but then straightened himself up and looked Al directly in the eye.

'_Do something, this is it.'_

"Al… you and I-," he began, but Al cut him off.

With his own mouth.

Ed let out a small muffled noise as Al dove forward and pressed his lips awkwardly against his, attaining the silence he'd wanted. He was holding onto the collar of Ed's jacket, his hands trembling.

The contact was brief, only lasting a few seconds before Al hurriedly pulled away, his entire face burning up. He let go of Ed's jacket, and brought one hand up to clamp over his mouth, and his eyes going wide with horror.

'_Oh God, what did I just do?'_

And it seemed that Edward was thinking the same thing, for his expression mirrored Al's almost exactly.

The brunette moved his hand from his mouth and moved it to reach for Ed, but immediately pulled it away. Somehow, he found his voice. "I… Ed, I… I-I'm so sorry…"

Ed remained still, but he managed to move his gaze away from the set of stairs behind Al to his face, distraught with fear.

Slowly then, he brought his hands upward to cup Al's face, the boy flinching slightly at the contact. Ed took a small step forward, despite the fact that he was mentally _screaming_ at himself to stop. But the expression on Al's face, like he was lost and waiting… hoping for someone to help.

It was too much.

Before his conscious could return to him, Ed closed the distance between them, his head tilting the tiniest bit upward as their lips met once more. Alphonse, even though he had seen it coming in the back of his mind and hadn't moved, froze completely. The pounding of his head and heart intensified, and suddenly felt as though the floor had dropped out from underneath him. His own eyes were opened wide to see that Ed's were closed, his soft golden hair falling in pieces around his face.

A whimper rose in Al's throat, but Ed remained where he was, and even shifting a little bit closer.

'_Not… not close enough,'_ his mind told him, begging him for more.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Alphonse quickly threw his arms around the blonde's shoulders, and brought him as close as possible while still remaining two people. Stars collided, bells chimed, and all those corny things you read about in books really happened as he clung to Ed in the front hallway of his house, kissing him excitedly and happily. But he didn't see them, like he'd originally thought.

He felt them.


End file.
